As always, I love sharing stories about our sisters with my blogger friends. Today let me introduce Sr. Mary Ann McCarthy.
Sr. Mary Ann McCarthy’s first encounter with the Sisters of St. Francis was not particularly auspicious. Immediately after her sophomore year, Cathedral High School—staffed by the Sisters of Mercy—closed. Half of the students were assigned to Notre Dame High School, half to St. Anthony High School in Trenton which was staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis. Mary Ann was one of the latter group and, like the other “transfers,” was not happy with the reassignment. “Everything was different—the grading system, the sisters, and because of the increased numbers, the class size.” She did, however, recall the efforts of Srs. Regina McCloskey and Doris Barlow to assist the new comers. “They reached out to us, listened to our complaints, and yet always remained loyal to the sisters.”
Senior year came and with it a new Franciscan—Sr. Therese Denny—who served on the Vocation Council. Because she didn’t drive, she asked Mary Ann to take her to meetings and eventually invited her to a retreat and a visit to Glen Riddle. The idea of a religious vocation wasn’t new to Mary Ann and she had enjoyed vocation retreats with the Mercys. This is where what Mary Ann describes as “adolescent logic” came into play. “I wasn’t sure if the attraction to religious life was simple because I like the Mercy sisters and enjoyed doing things with them or because God was actually calling me to religious life. I figured that if I entered the Franciscans, it would be a test. I would learn whether I just enjoyed being with the Mercys or whether I really had a vocation to religious life.” She applied to the Franciscans during her senior year and was asked to wait a year—either getting a job or going to college. She chose to work, bought herself a car, and a year later entered the Sisters of St. Francis. “Adolescent logic” it may be—but God does indeed work in strange ways.”
In 2009 Sr. Mary Ann was in transition between jobs and was considering taking a class at Neumann University. When she came to register, she met Sr. Patricia Hutchison. They chatted and Sr. Pat, who is the director of the Franciscan Institute at Neumann, offered Mary Ann the position of administrative assistant. Sr. Mary Ann accepted and today continues to be part of the Neumann University staff.
In addition to the usual tasks associated with an administrative assistant’s position, Sr. Mary Ann does most of the technological jobs needed to advance the work of the institute—e.g. designing advertising posters and PowerPoint presentations, maintaining attendance records. She also helps visitors locate needed resources, assists with faculty retreats, takes photos of various gatherings, sets up for meetings, and collaborates with staff and students on a variety of projects that assist Neumann carrying out its mission.
| Sr. Mary Ann and Sr. Patricia Hutchison discuss plans for a brochure for an upcoming event. |
| Sr. Mary Ann and director of service learning, Megan Camp, plan for one of the student activities. |
| Sr. Mary Ann, Alicia Johnston, Megan Camp, and Maria Marx make plans to get volunteers for the Science Olympiad. |
| Sr. Mary Ann points out upcoming service events on the What's Happening calendar to a Neumann student. |
| Sr. Mary Ann sorts and keeps track of books in the resource room so that she can provide materials for students and staff. Above she chats with Tara Convery, library circulation coordinator, about resources she will need for a coming program. |
